Children arriving at Dubai International Airport will now be able to stamp their own passports.
The new children-only platforms will be located in the arrivals hall in Terminal 3, Dubai's General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs said on Friday.
Young passengers wishing to stamp their own passports will be greeted by characters Salem and Salama, dressed as GDFRA employees.
The department said the initiative is designed to build friendship and make Dubai a “city for everyone”.
The announcement comes as Lt Gen Mohamed Al Marri, director general of GDFRA, and his team visited the airport on the first day of Eid Al Fitr.
During their visit, they watched children use the platform for the first time.
Dubai has seen a surge in the number of international visitors.
The emirate hosted 3.1 million visitors in the first two months of 2023, according to the latest data from Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism.
In January, the number of visitors increased by 50 per cent year-on-year and stood 9 per cent below the pre-pandemic levels recorded in 2019, an assessment by Emirates NBD showed.
And in February, Dubai’s tourism exceeded pre-pandemic levels, with 1.63 million visitors, up 7 per cent from 2019 and 35 per cent year-on-year.
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGuillermo%20del%20Toro%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Tim%20Blake%20Nelson%2C%20Sebastian%20Roche%2C%20Elpidia%20Carrillo%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
